Research Reveals Alarming Trends in Non-Human Identity Security

A recent study by Entro Security Labs, a leading provider of Non-Human Identity (NHI) and Secrets Management solutions, has uncovered alarming trends in how organizations manage NHIs and secrets, highlighting significant security risks and vulnerabilities. The study, titled "2025 State of Non-Human Identities and Secrets in Cybersecurity," analyzed millions of real-world NHI secrets, revealing widespread misconfigurations and practices that leave sensitive data vulnerable to breaches.

• The study found that 97% of NHIs have excessive privileges, increasing unauthorized access and expanding the attack surface.
• Additionally, 92% of organizations expose NHIs to third parties, posing a significant security risk if third-party security practices are not aligned with organizational standards.
• Perhaps most alarmingly, 44% of tokens are exposed in the wild, being sent or stored over platforms like Teams, Jira tickets, Confluence pages, code commits, and more. Such practices expose sensitive information to potential interception and compromise, posing a major threat to secrets and NHI security.

Critical Security Findings and Recommendations

Entro Security Labs' research reveals a critical need for organizations to re-evaluate their NHI and secrets management practices. The study identified several concerning trends, emphasizing the importance of addressing these vulnerabilities to bolster overall cybersecurity posture.

• On average, there are 92 non-human identities for every human identity, highlighting the significant complexity of identity management and the potential for security vulnerabilities.
• Astonishingly, 91% of former employee tokens remain active, leaving organizations vulnerable to potential breaches from ex-employees.
• The study also found that 50% of organizations are onboarding new vaults without proper security approval, introducing potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations from the outset.
• Furthermore, 73% of vaults are misconfigured, leading to unauthorized access, exposure of sensitive data, and compromised systems.
• A staggering 60% of NHIs are being overused, with the same NHI being used by multiple applications, increasing the risk of a single point of failure and widespread compromise if exposed.
• The research also found that 62% of all secrets are duplicated and stored in multiple locations, causing unnecessary redundancy and increasing the risk of accidental exposure.
• Concerningly, 71% of non-human identities are not rotated within recommended timeframes, increasing the risk of compromise over time.

Addressing Security Risks and Strengthening Data Protection

The study's findings emphasize the critical need for organizations to implement robust security measures and improve their NHI and secrets management practices. This includes:

• Implementing strong access controls: Organizations must carefully define and enforce access rights for NHIs, limiting privileges to only what is absolutely necessary for each NHI to perform its intended function.
• Enhancing security awareness: Organizations must educate employees about the importance of NHI and secrets security and the potential risks associated with poor security practices.
• Using dedicated secrets management solutions: Organizations should leverage dedicated secrets management solutions like Entro Security's platform to centralize and manage secrets, ensuring consistent security policies and practices across the organization.
• Implementing a robust identity management system: Organizations should implement a comprehensive identity management system that provides a centralized platform for managing all identities, both human and non-human. This includes lifecycle management, access control, and auditing.
• Regularly reviewing and updating security policies: Organizations must regularly review and update their security policies to reflect current best practices and address emerging threats. This should include policies for NHI and secrets management, as well as policies for third-party access.
• Implementing data security best practices: Organizations should implement robust data security best practices, including encryption, access control, and data loss prevention. This will help to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.

Entro Security: A Solution for Secure Non-Human Identity Management

Entro Security offers an award-winning platform that helps organizations manage and protect their NHIs and secrets. Unlike traditional methods that reactively scan for exposed secrets, Entro's platform seamlessly integrates with existing vaults and secret creation locations. This provides a single pane of glass view for securely using and managing non-human identities and secrets at scale.

Entro Security's platform offers several features that enhance data security, including:

• Non-Human Identity Lifecycle Management: Entro Security's platform provides a comprehensive solution for managing the entire lifecycle of NHIs, from creation to retirement.
• Secrets Security: Entro Security helps organizations securely store, manage, and rotate secrets, minimizing the risk of exposure and compromise.
• Non-Human Identity Detection and Response: Entro Security's platform provides real-time monitoring and detection of potential NHI security threats, enabling organizations to respond quickly and effectively to incidents.

Conclusion: Prioritizing Non-Human Identity and Secrets Security

The findings of Entro Security Labs' research clearly indicate the critical importance of prioritizing NHI and secrets security. Organizations must take a proactive approach to managing these assets, implementing robust security measures to protect sensitive data and minimize the risk of breaches.

By implementing a comprehensive security framework that includes robust secrets management practices, effective identity management, and continuous security awareness training, organizations can significantly enhance their cybersecurity posture and protect their valuable data from unauthorized access and compromise.